An online rental listing for 40-42 Colchester Ave. in Burlington lauds the six-bedroom unit as a "plush and very spacious" apartment with a large living room and a nice kitchen.

For $4,500 per month, the listing states, renters can enjoy an apartment with off-street parking close to the University of Vermont.

The advertisement makes no mention of the building's numerous housing code violations, which include inadequate emergency exits, leaking windows, faulty plumbing and damaged sheetrock.Nor does the listing state that 40-42 Colchester Ave. has failed to meet Burlington's minimum housing standards since 2014.

The landlord, Soon Kwon, has for years exasperated Burlington's Code Enforcement Office. Kwon's four Burlington properties, which also include 34 Colchester Ave., 66 South Union St. and 41 South Willard St., each have outstanding violations. The total: more than 90.

Housing inspectors have meticulously documented Kwon's history with code enforcement, but the city has allowed Kwon to continue renting in Burlington. The City Attorney's Office is examining Kwon's situation and could bring criminal charges as early as this month — the latest development in a years-long dispute between Kwon and city officials.

“We are of course concerned with a landlord who has multiple violations,” City Attorney Eileen Blackwood said. “The process we’re in the middle of right now is the process we have to enforce those kinds of conditions.”

Yet until and unless Burlington bars Kwon from acting as a landlord or declares his properties uninhabitable, Kwon is free to continue renting. Two of his properties, 40-42 Colchester Ave. and 66 South Union St., appear in online rental listings.

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A property owned by landlord Soon Kwon at 66 South Union St. in Burlington.(Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS)

Code enforcement reports are public records, but Kwon is under no legal obligation to disclose to potential tenants the outstanding violations at his properties.

Meanwhile, Kwon already is involved in legal action. He faces a criminal charge arising from an altercation with a college student in one of his parking lots. On several occasions, as recently as December, Kwon has tangled with former tenants in civil court.

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Left, Code Enforcement Director Bill Ward appears in Chittenden County Superior Court in December as a witness in a civil case against Burlington landlord Soon Kwon over a security deposit Kwon allegedly held without cause.
(Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)

Code Enforcement Director Bill Ward describes Kwon as one of a small number of problem landlords in the city. Ward said inspectors in December found zero violations at 63 percent of apartments they visited in Burlington. Kwon's units, in contrast, are a regular source of complaints. Ward said housing inspectors have visited Kwon's properties 18 times since November.

Kwon has accused Ward of holding a personal grudge against him — a claim Ward denies.

"I think he feels this is personal, and it's not," Ward said.

Kwon, who has granted several interviews to the Burlington Free Press since last summer, declined to speak Thursday.

"My lawyer said I shouldn't talk to you," Kwon said.

Kwon's attorney, William Towle, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ward and his housing inspectors have tried for months to encourage Kwon to correct violations at his properties. Ward has tried repeated warnings and fines. At one point, after a housing inspector discovered dangerous wiring that could have electrocuted tenants, Ward declared part of a unit unfit for human habitation.

Yet Kwon has refused to reform. In several interviews with the Free Press since August, Kwon has maintained he intends to fix only violations he believes pose genuine health and safety concerns. Ward, whose dossier on Kwon has grown to hundreds of pages of housing inspection reports, vows to persevere.

“I do feel completely frustrated,” Ward said. “But I’m a persistent person, and I’m confident we’ll see it through, and we’ll get compliance.”

City mulls prosecution

Ward in September referred Kwon's case to the City Attorney's Office. By law, landlords may be prosecuted for failing to comply with an order from the code enforcement director. Ward told the Burlington Free Press last fall he believes Kwon has crossed that threshold.

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A sign on the door of Burlington apartment tenant Schuyler Enright's bedroom declares the room unfit for human habitation. Back in October, the UVM student and her three roommates said they had a long list of complaints with the Colchester Avenue apartment that they said landlord Soon Kwon failed to address.(Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS)

Four months after receiving the case, Blackwood, the city attorney, said her office still is reviewing files related to Kwon. Blackwood said building a criminal complaint based on individual housing violations is a tedious endeavor, and she hopes to proceed in a few weeks.

“These cases take a long time, as we have to review many different issues and make sure we have the evidence to back up whatever charges we choose to bring,” Blackwood said.

Blackwood said that because she would in effect be operating as a prosecutor in the case, she is precluded from offering more details until filing a complaint in Vermont Superior Court.

Kwon also recently appeared in criminal court. City police in October cited Kwon on suspicion of disorderly conduct after they say he threatened a University of Vermont student who had parked at Kwon's Colchester Avenue properties. The student said he was visiting a friend, one of Kwon's tenants. Kwon told police he believed the student was trespassing, according to an affidavit filed in the case.